A vegetarian version of zhajiang sauce may be made by substituting ground beef or pork with finely diced extra firm smoked tofu (熏豆腐干), edamame (毛豆), eggplant, or extra firm tofu (素鸡). In the Northeast China, using scrambled egg instead of meat to make zhajiang is also quite common, known as jidan jiang.

The vegetarian versions generally call for soybean paste of any sort instead of soy sauce, since the tofu chunks are larger and need more structure. Low-fat dieters often use ground, skinless chicken for the meat portion since ground turkey is not very popular in Asia, and a halal version is often made with ground beef or lamb.

The topping of the noodles usually are sliced fresh or/and pickled vegetables, including cucumber, radish, edamame, depending on regions. Chopped omelette or in lieu of extra firm tofu can also be alongside.